With the state's public colleges facing huge financial challenges, members of the Senate Budget Committee pushed for specifics Thursday on how education leaders would implement a $300 million cut that might be needed when federal economic stimulus dollars run out.

Times-Picayune archiveMillions of dollars worth of unclaimed property is being held by the state of Louisiana.

A planning document released last month by the Board of Regents laid out a range of possible scenarios, including closing eight campuses around the state, when $290 million in stimulus financing goes away starting in July 2011. But Commissioner of Education Sally Clausen has been reluctant to tell legislators whether she would recommend campus closures or find some other way of meeting the lower spending target.

"How many (colleges) should we have?" Sen. Eric LaFleur, D-Ville Platte, asked Clausen. "If you ask us we all ... say we want one in our district."

Clausen said closures might be unavoidable if the budget picture doesn't improve.

"I think it's not going to be a matter of how many should we have, but how many can we afford," she said.

Sen. Mike Walsworth, R-West Monroe, accused the Regents of being "reckless" by suggesting that campuses might be closed. Walsworth, whose district includes the University of Louisiana-Monroe, said the reports of possible closure have hurt fundraising, morale and caused parents to reconsider their children's college choices.

"When ... the leaders of higher ed throw something out like that it is taken seriously, very seriously," Walsworth said.

But Sen. Sherry Cheek, R-Shreveport, said the report served as a helpful wake-up call for legislators as they craft next year's budget and look ahead to 2011-12, when the state's finances are projected to hit bottom.

"I want people in my district to understand the potential collateral damage," Cheek said.

Meanwhile, committee members were told that Louisiana is likely to need a waiver from the federal government to spend about $290 million in stimulus financing that's been plugged into the 2010-11 budget for higher education.

Under a "maintenance of effort" requirement included in the 2009 stimulus law, states that use stimulus dollars in their education budgets must keep their spending at or above 2006 levels, or else get a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education.

The state is about $65 million below the maintenance requirement for the current fiscal year, and is expected to come up short in the 2010-11 fiscal year that starts July 1. So far, the administration has not submitted its waiver request for either year, though officials said they are confident it won't be a problem.

"They have given us every signal ... that we meet the waiver criteria," Division of Administration spokesman Michael DiResto said.

But Sen. Lydia Jackson, D-Shreveport, said the waiver issue adds another layer of uncertainty for colleges and universities, which have seen their state support cut by more than $250 million over the last 16 months. "That's the question before the committee: Are we willing to make that assumption that we're going to get a waiver from the Obama administration in Louisiana," Jackson said.

Gov. Bobby Jindal's executive budget proposed to keep colleges financed at current-year levels, but the House Appropriations Committee cut that allotment by $50 million last week when it made changes to the $25 billion operating budget.

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Jan Moller can be reached at jmoller@timespicayune.com or 225.342.5207.